I remember
years ago, talking to a person who distributed produce from a rail head in
Allapattah – before it became the next Wynwood-like hot spot for artsy urban
development.
When I asked
if the produce came from the Redland, the person laughed at me. He told me virtually all of it comes from the
seaport, a little from the airport.
He said it
will always be cheaper to grow fresh food in South America, Central America,
Mexico, even farther flung places and ship it through Port Miami and MIA.
Well, what
happens when there is a pandemic or some other global crisis? What happens when
the source nation (wisely) needs to hold onto its produce to feed its own?
What happens
when the cost of fuel makes it no longer viable to depend on places hundreds to
thousands of miles away for Miami’s essential fresh food?
What happens,
because of pandemic or other cause the cargo planes stop flying, the cargo ship
arrivals are reduced to a tiny fraction of typical sea traffic?
I hope, when
live returns to something resembling normal, that our elected and appointed
leaders prevent any land suitable for agriculture from being turned into
pavement and rooftops.
I hope they
pay more than lip service to diversifying the economy. The under write and
subsidize billionaires every day. Those taxpayer funds used to enrich the
richest could be redirected as seed money for organic farming on a scale never
before undertaken here.
I hope they
ignore the endless influence of mega wealthy donors who want tourism and
concrete to be the be all and end all for greater Miami’s economy till the end
of days.
I’m an optimist,
but if we keep greenlighting projects that pave over precious agricultural land
and perpetuate policy that forces a huge portion of our residents to pay half
their gross income to put a roof over their head – I think South Florida’s end
of days may come much sooner than later.
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